In this CPTV interview, I spoke with N-able CEO John Pagliuca about why there needs to be a “reckoning” about security in an AI world and why just good enough isn’t good enough when it comes to cybersecurity.
N-able provides end-to-end cybersecurity and IT management that MSPs sell to their customers.
“At N-able, we believe good-enough security is not good enough,” Pagliuca said. “We believe in best-in-class, enterprise-grade security that's easy enough for the small-medium enterprise to deploy, because we know they have their own business to run and don't necessarily have the resources. It's really an evolution of what we've been seeing. The MSP community has grown up quite a bit. Unfortunately, the threat actors have grown up quite a bit too. AI is changing the dynamic, and vendors supporting MSPs need to up their game and focus on best-in-class outcomes, not just tooling that's good enough.”
He said AI has created a new normal for security, and MSPs must adjust.
“Whether you're an MSP, whether you're a small-medium enterprise, whether you're a big shop, or someone who's advising some of these folks, there needs to be a reckoning that we are in fact in this new normal,” Pagliuca said. “With AI, you could have sophisticated hackers that can be much more powerful and move at a much more AI-level speed. And you also can have some smash-and-grab folks who, using just basic prompts, can now become more of a headache.”
How can MSPs combat that?
“You need to fight fire with fire,” Pagliuca said. “Look at your tech stack, your processes, and even your internal people and how you need to orient yourself. How are you leveraging AI?”
John Pagliuca
Pagliuca said MSPs can stop AI-powered attackers by using their own AI-powered tools such as N-able’s Adlumin XDR and MDR, increase hygiene by staying up to date with patches and remaining compliant to increase resilience.
“That's the one thing I always preach,” he said. “You might not be able to keep the bad guys out. I might not be an impenetrable wall. But if they get in, what happens next? Business resilience really has a couple of dimensions: the before, during, and after — but also making sure your surface area is fully accounted for. AI also creates a whole new surface area where employees can be putting information out there that you might not want them to. Threat actors now have this wide surface area they can attack Frankly, it's a much more expansive world, much more challenging for departments and MSPs. That's why they need to rely on vendors pushing a mindset of best-in-class across the entire spectrum.”
There’s much more in the video at the top of the page.